


Quiet Screams

by AnOverObsessedShipper



Category: Bleach
Genre: Angst, BAMF Kurosaki Ichigo, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Fix-It, Gen, Hurt Kurosaki Ichigo, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kurosaki Ichigo Needs a Hug, Kurosaki Ichigo-centric, Non-Canonical Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:54:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25342798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnOverObsessedShipper/pseuds/AnOverObsessedShipper
Summary: It was quiet. Not a sound to be heard, other than the light pittering of rain on the ground and the heavy breaths leaving Ichigo’s battered body.Yhwach was dead, along with everyone else. He had no one left. He was alone in a broken world; It was the end.However, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, Ichigo Kurosaki is one stubborn son of a bitch.
Comments: 21
Kudos: 138





	Quiet Screams

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the maybe-first chapter of "Quiet Screams"! It's been a while since I've properly written something, much more since I've actually posted anything, so I thought I'd give this a whirl and see how it goes. So, without any further adieu, here's the Prologue!

It was quiet. Not a sound to be heard, other than the light pittering of rain on the ground and the heavy breaths leaving Ichigo’s battered body. He wore a tired posture, one that spoke of sorrow and regret, constantly weighing down on him. On his shoulders, the remains of a white haori fluttered as a small breeze pasted through, the number having been torn off years ago through battle. In his hands, he held two swords, covered in blood. He looked up into the clouded sky of the ruined Seireitei, letting the rain wash off the blood that was on his face.

  
“It’s... over.” He whispered, disbelief and dejection present in the low rumble. His voice sounded hoarse and raw, damaged, as if his vocal cords had nothing more to give.

The rubble of the destroyed 1st Division lay strewn about, not a single building had been left untouched by Yhwach’s carnage. He could hear the crackling sound of stone against stone as the debris settled. The destruction of what had been his home for the past twenty years surrounded him, decimated by that damn Quincy king, yet- He felt peaceful.

  
Peace. Now that was a largely foreign concept to the orange-haired hybrid. It’d been a long time since he’d felt peace, not since Rukia- _The name dredged up memories of blood and regret within him, visions of cold eyes frozen with fear staring up at him, he hadn’t been able to save her, he’d been useless_ \- had given him her powers, thrusting him head-first into the spirit world. She had started the chain reaction that would lead to him standing in the desolate ruins of the Seireitei.

The Winter War had lasted four years. Four long years of death, blood, grief, torture,- _He still had episodes where he’d wake up in a panic, thinking he was back in that room with those damn cuffs around his wrists and ankles, beaten, used, and broken. It had taken over a year just to get back to a semi-stable state after he escaped. He was noticeably quieter after the ordeal_ \- and misery.

They had severely underestimated the power of the Arrancar, the first attack being closer to a one-sided beatdown than a battle. They’d lost Soifon that day, Baraggan’s Respira catching her and rotting her away before she could do anything about it. They were forced to retreat back to the Soul Society, everything escalating from there. After Aizen had fully merged with the Hogyoku, they couldn’t really call it a war anymore. It was more of a four-year-long massacre. Too much was lost during that war. If he hadn’t been so weak, had been able to learn Mugetsu faster, maybe he would have been able to prevent the deaths that had occurred.

There was a lull in between the wars, a sort of peace, although peace was the last thing Ichigo felt. After using Mugestu to finally end the carnage, he was forgotten about for a year and a half. The lack of his Zanpaktou left him feeling vulnerable and paranoid as if something could just walk up behind him and kill him, with him being none the wiser. His friends noticed, he knew they did, he knew it worried them, but it was hard to act normally after being stuck in the front lines of a war for over four years. It would be another year and a half till he would be able to hear his other halves of his soul- _He would never admit to the tears that welled up in his eyes when he’d heard Ossan’s soothing voice. He never cried, and he’d be damned if he started now_.

He then spent the next six months constantly training, not wanting to be caught off guard by another encounter. Everyone had fretted over him, asking him to take a break for a while and stop, They would tell him that there was no reason to train so hard anymore. Looking back, it was probably his stubbornness in constantly training that kept him alive for those first few months during the next war.

Then Yhwach came, and everything went downhill from there. The first casualty was the 1st Division’s Fukutaicho, Chōjirō Sasakibe. The Sternritter then came and war rang out, the Seireitei fighting for just the right to existence- Even after Yhwach got his hands on the Soul King, they kept fighting, even though it was basically pointless at that point in time. Shinigami are some stubborn sons of bitches, after all.

  
  
Somewhere along the line one of the Sternritter- V, he was pretty sure- had willed the Gargantua to stop existing entirely. It had taken a few captains to restrain Ichigo and prevent him from attempting to viciously slaughter that damn thing himself. The collapse of the Gargantua dimension meant that the three worlds would crash into each other and destroy everything. Through some miracle, they were able to seal the Soul Society off, though not at the cost of Urahara and everyone in the world of the living- _He still regrets not being able to save his sisters. He’d screamed and wailed nonstop that day, running his voice raw, because he’d lost two of the most important things to him. He still hasn’t forgiven himself._

Finally, after twenty long years, Ichigo was able to end the fighting, the suffering; He wondered what for, though. Everyone was dead. The world was going to collapse soon, he couldn’t do anything about it. He dropped his blades, a loud clatter rang out as the blades of Zangetsu hit the ground, and fell to his knees, lacking the willpower to continue standing. He stared at the ground with a blank look in his eyes, long bangs hanging down in front of them Sometime later he realized he was kneeling in a pool of blood.

He looked up at the body in front of him, finding lifeless blue eyes gazing up at him. Uryuu. He stared at his friend as memories of the cold Quincy’s last moments hit him like a brick.

  
_ He had been exchanging blows with the Quincy king for a while, being incapable of gaining any ground on him. The Quincy king had hardly been trying, he’d been able to read every single one of his moves. Then, Yhwach suddenly advanced on the hybrid with no warning, tearing into him with the king’s sword. The worst of the wounds were lessened through his Hierro and Blut Vene, but even then Yhwach was able to leave a few deep gashes. He had been pinned up against a wall in what was left of the barracks, breathing heavily, with Yhwach slowly closing the distance between them. _

_   
Then it happened. In the blink of an eye, Uryu was in front of him, with his bow charged. He released his arrow directly into the king, just as Ywhatch’s sword plunged into the Quincy. He saw the king’s eyes widen and took that as his chance. Using a combination of Sonido, which he found to be slightly faster than Shunpo, and Hirenkyaku, he went behind the king, and let Zangetsu’s larger blade tear into him, cleaving Yhwach’s head straight off.  _

He was grateful for whatever the now deceased Quincy did, but even with Yhwach dead, it didn’t change the fact that everything he cherished was gone. He sat there, a grim silence encapsulating him before he let out a silent breath. He let his hand gently caress his friend’s cold face before he slid his eyes close. He stared at him for a bit longer, as if to burn the image of his friend’s face into his mind.

“I’m sorry.” He held a heavy sorrow in his throat for the man in front of him, who gave his life for Ichigo.

Slowly, he raised from his spot next to his friend, his entire body screaming in protest the entire way. He was sure he’d broken a few bones, that was alright though, he’s lived through much worse. He felt the slight tugging on his reiatsu as his zanpaktou spirits materialized behind him. White put a firm hand on his shoulder in a sign of silent support. The spirit knew Ichigo wasn’t one for words, not anymore at least. Ossan stood behind him as well, eyes shut behind his yellow-tinted shades. 

_He was alone,_ his mind whispered to him _._ The thought was lingering at the back of his head, trying to force itself to the forefront. He had no one left to fight for. No family, no friends, no one. They were all dead, and he was left all alone, standing in the remains of what used to be his home, surrounded by the blood and corpses of his comrades. He felt a stinging in his eyes and desperately attempted to push back tears. He didn’t deserve to cry, he’d failed all of them and was now paying the price. This was all his fault for being so damn weak.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of purple. Casting a glance over, he saw shards of purple scattered across the ground. The Hogyoku- or, what was left of it. Yhwach, after merging with the Soul King, had ripped it out of Aizen’s chest and smashed in half, a feat thought impossible. Just one more thing to prove how insanely strong the man was. He kneeled down in front of it and picked up one of the shards, turning it in his hand. As he held it, he felt a presence emanating from it, as if it was still in one piece. He furrowed his brow slightly at the realization. He didn’t have time to think about it though, as a loud, rattling boom sounded across the Soul Society.

He looked up from the half of the orb and into the clouds. Through them, he could see cracks starting to appear. The seal blocking the Soul Society from the other two worlds had broken, and the world was beginning to crumble. The rain began to pick up, pounding against the ground in a loud roar, as he dropped his head. It was over, there wasn’t any point in fighting anymore… However, Ichigo was one stubborn son of a bitch.  He grit his teeth, frustration and anger building up within him. This couldn’t be it, there had to be something, anything!

“No… I won’t accept it, I refuse!” He yelled out, voice rough with denial. He’d given up everything, this couldn’t be how it ended. “ _Goddamnit, I refuse to accept this fate! I need to change this! I have to--!_ ”

Before he could even finish his sentence, he felt something slam into his chest hard. He didn’t even have time to yell out before he could feel his very existence tearing apart. Every nerve in his body lit ablaze with agony, and then he was gone.

...

There was nothing. He couldn’t see, think, or breathe, his body didn’t even exist. There was no light or dark, no warm or cold. He couldn’t hear his Zanpaktou, it should have worried him but he couldn’t feel. He didn’t even exist. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed, or if time even existed. It felt as if a thousand years had gone by in a second, but also as if one second took a thousand years to pass.

...

Then, he felt pressure, and suddenly he was standing in the middle of a forest. He was quickly overwhelmed, the sensations that hadn’t even existed a moment ago searing into his senses. He felt himself collapse to the ground, somewhere in the back of his mind he recognized two voices calling out to him, but they were dim, sluggish and not as present as the searing pain his body presented to him. The last thing he heard was footsteps before he fell unconscious.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, that's the first chapter of this maybe-fic! It's kinda short, but that's alright. What did y'all think? It's been quite a while since I've written, as mentioned previously, so I would love to see some feedback! I'm also kind of interested in what ideas you guys have, as I have a rough plan for what I want, however, nothing is set in stone, and I have a lot of gaps to fill ^^ Anywho, thank you for reading!
> 
> -Sketch <3


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